"I think I was most proud that we played tonight like an elimination game," Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts said following a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the National League Division Series via SportsNetLA. 

It was, more or less, an elimination-type feel for both squads, as both managers on either side decided to hold off on their respective aces until Game 3 at Truist Park. 

Dodgers sent out right-handed ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound to square off against Braves southpaw Chris Sale, who was only getting better with age. 

In the end, Yamamoto would come out on top, tossing seven dominant innings and striking out 10 while allowing only one earned run. Sale did his part in the early frames, but the newly constructed Dodgers lineup proved effective. 

Before Game 3, Roberts was adamant about making changes to the starting lineup to combat the likes of Sale. He even mentioned moving struggling two-way star Shohei Ohtani down the lineup to give him better chances at the plate. 

When the lineups came out, Ohtani was placed in the fifth spot, a place he had not hit in since his 2020 campaign and the lowest he'd hit in a Dodgers uniform up to this point.

Along with that, Kiké Hernández was slotted in at the nine hole and playing third base in place of Max Muncy. Miguel Rojas would also get the start at second base over Tommy Edman, but he would exit the game in the eighth inning after tweaking his back in his last at-bat. 

Mix all that in, and Roberts constructed a near-perfect lineup that went toe-to-toe with Sale. They made him work from the jump, tossing 24 pitches in the first inning.

By the third, he had amassed a lopsided number of 62. Still, the Dodgers had yet to score, even with runners on base throughout those three innings, a problem that had been apparent since Game 2. 

"I wanted Chris Sale to know he was in a fight. I think we accomplished that," Roberts said. 

It was a fight on both sides of the ball, but the Dodgers used their bullets wisely and struck when the time was right. A three-spot in the fourth inning was headlined by home runs from October's finest in Hernández and Freddie Freeman, catapulting the Los Angeles offense. 

Yamamoto did the rest on the mound, shutting out Atlanta one by one. 

Los Angeles has yet to score in any other way but the long ball. With seven home runs in three games, Roberts and others look to change the narrative about how effective this Dodgers offense can be in search of a third consecutive World Series victory. 

The Dodgers look to continue their treck with sending out Tyler Glasnow in Game 4 on Wednesday.